The pros and cons on the Pro-Challenge

Some fear the impact on businesses, others looking to capitalize

By Doug Fox

For the Trail-Gazette

Posted:
08/24/2013 07:55:50 AM MDT

A handful of business owners along the route of the USA Pro Challenge as it passes through Estes Park in Stage Six of the bike race are concerned it will crater their businesses for that day costing them thousands of dollars.

Others say that's not necessarily so.

By the town's own estimation, Saturday's leg of the race from Loveland to Fort Collins passing through the heart of Estes Park is expected to be the largest, single-day event in Estes Park's history, drawing tens of thousands of spectators.

Some town estimates put the expected spectator crowd at 30,000 to 50,000 people.

The race will run right through downtown Estes Park on Elkhorn Ave., then turn onto Moraine Ave., heading toward the west end of town, then turn onto Marys Lake Road before turning onto Highway 7 and heading back toward the intersection of U.S. 34 and U.S. 36 back downtown and finally head out of town on U.S. 34.

For a town that thrives on tourism, foot traffic is critical. But when the city shuts down major streets and intersections to make way for the bike race, it could have an adverse effect on business, say a number of business owners.

"It's going to kill me," said Scot Ritchie, owner of Scot's Sporting Goods on Moraine Ave. "It puts me out of business during our prime period. I don't mind having these events but not during our core selling season. I'm going to lose like $2,000 to $3,000 that day."

Advertisement

Moraine Ave. will be shut down from 12:30 p.m. until after the race passes - probably after 2 p.m.

"It's going to close us up," Ritchie said. "From 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., or whatever, no one is going to be able to get to us. Our guided fly fishing trips, we'll be able to get them out, but there's no way we're going to able to get them back home. We could lose up to $2,000 in sales that day."

The bike race will pass right in front of Scot's Sporting Goods and then turn the corner south onto Marys Lake Road. It's the same intersection that was shut down during a forest fire that raged across the street in June of last year.

"Basically, it's almost exactly the same as what that fire did to us last year," Ritchie said. "That shut us down, too. The police came out, closed the street down, and we were closed that afternoon as far as sales go. Several years ago, President Bush came to the Y camp. They closed our road down again for a two hour period because of security reasons. And that just killed us."

The Rocky Mountain Opry which performs at the National Park Village Playhouse at the intersection of Moraine and Marys Lake Road has been forced to cancel an afternoon matinee performance on Saturday.

"It's costing us thousands of dollars because that show was a sellout," said Opry performer and co-owner Barbara Barleen Staerkel. "We've had to call every person who bought a ticket and give them an alternate date or return their money. It's not about the money. It's about communication. We didn't know about this until just a few weeks ago."

Estes Park Town Administrator Frank Lancaster disputes that. He says city officials have been talking about the race for about a year.

"It's been in the newspaper," Lancaster said. "We had a couple of public meetings. We invited people to come and voice their concerns. Most people do know about it. I understand there may be some that didn't. We did a lot of outreach pretty heavily for at least nine months. I know there were newspaper articles last fall and last winter about the thing, so it shouldn't be a surprise if anyone was paying attention."

Another business at the same intersection (Moraine and Marys Lake Rd.) is The Other Side Restaurant. Owner Scott Webermeier said: "I suspect it's going to be problematic that day just basically being a landlocked creature. Obviously anytime you shut down Elkhorn Ave. for a day, the access to this end of town is problematic for a period of time. When there will be absolutely no ingress or egress out of the property, it's probably not going to be a plus.

"Hopefully, in the long run, the benefits will outweigh the one-day loss."

Across the street at the Alpine Trail Ridge Inn, owner Fran Grooters says she has talked with Barbara Staerkel about the challenges the race presents.

"I said to Barb, 'You need to set up a lemonade stand in the parking lot or put on a show for those people waiting for the participants to come by,'" said Grooters. "My heart goes out to her because of those cancellations and yet it's because she's such a strong businesswoman that she would never let senior citizens get stuck in a bus somewhere. She could have been ruthless and not cancelled the show, but she did the right thing. It will hurt her, but not in the long run because she is a woman of great integrity. She did the right thing for her guests."

Maximizing the situation is what town officials are emphasizing and Grooters is trying to follow that lead.

"It may trigger some cancellations," she said, "but it's going to come to our community and we all have to figure out how to work with it as best we can. We've never had such a big event and we always learn when we bring new things to town."

The USA Pro Challenge is the largest bike race in the world after the Tour de France.

"They think this may be the biggest stage this race has ever had in its history because of the route and the proximity to the Front Range," Lancaster said. "And we think one of the key places to watch it is Estes Park."

The path of the race through Estes Park will include a hill climb and a sprint and for race fans.

"It's one of the few places where they will be able to see the race go through twice," Lancaster said. "And it's on Saturday, which makes it easier for fans in the Front Range to come up. So, we're planning for a huge crowd. And I think most businesses think the more people in town the better."

Indeed.

Charley Dickey, the owner of Rustic Mountain Charm, says the race is one of those rare events that provides Estes Park with a large, captive crowd and tremendous worldwide exposure.

He admits he's heard some negative comments from some business owners who say they may shut down during the race because they won't have any customers.

But, his business will remain open.

"I can't even fathom (closing down a business during the race)," he said. "The restaurants and hotels will be overflowing. I know we'll be beefing up a little, ordering some extra items like postcards with bicycles on them."

Julie Phares, who serves on the board for the Estes Valley Partners for Commerce, agreed with Dickey about the importance of the event.

"It's a great thing for Estes Park," Phares said. "It's an opportunity to show off our community. Some (businesses) may not make a lot this weekend, but this is bringing people to Estes Park that have never been here before. They could be thinking after this 'hey, we need to come back to Estes Park and see a little more.'"

Phares said she was visiting with a Rotary club in Scottsbluff on Wednesday. She said officials there were envious of Estes Park being a big part of the race.

"I had someone tell me that 'you have no idea what we would pay to have this in Scottsbluff,'" Phares said.

Despite the positives, there are still some business owners who are worried about how the race will affect their employees.

"Quite honestly, I'm concerned about my staff being able to get to work because they're talking about closing down Moraine at nine o'clock in the morning," says Dave Oehlman, owner of Smokin' Dave's Barbeque on Moraine Ave. "My kitchen will be here, but my wait staff - do we know if they're going to allow people through?"

Lancaster says the wait staff for the always busy barbeque restaurant will be allowed to get to work. They might have to take an alternate route to get there, but they should be there for what he believes will be a very good day for business.

"I think Smokin' Dave's is one of those businesses that will have a landslide business," said Lancaster. "It's over the lunch hour. They've got frontage right along the race. There're a lot out (of restaurants in) that direction for people to get sodas and beer and have a sandwich. I really think the restaurants are really going to do well, particularly if they capitalize on the people that are in town."

Lancaster says those businesses that promote the race and offer specials will be the ones that benefit the most.

"We expect some people to come up the night before. Some will be camping. Some will want to stay in lodges," says Lancaster. "Some of the lodges are going to do packages. Those who promote it, I think, will do better than those who don't. I think the restaurants, bars, and food service are going to be swamped. I mean we've got 50,000 people in town that are thirsty, hungry, wanting to ... have lunch. They're probably going to come up early and want to have breakfast."

"I ordered some Water Polarmax bottles that have the race printed on them. The bottles are different colors for the different jerseys," says Ernie Petrocine who owns two businesses in downtown Estes Park. Rocky Mountain Connections and Outdoor World are both along Elkhorn Ave., the main thoroughfare through town to be traveled by the bikers.

"It's going to be good for business. You bet. I'm very positive about the whole thing," says Petrocine. "Having 50,000 or 100,000 (visitors) or whatever it is - they're going to be introduced to Estes."

Petrocine and Lancaster both expect a residual effect of the race.

"This is going to be covered live on NBC, nationally. The exposure to Estes Park - the media exposure -- is something we could not pay for," says Lancaster. "It's also going to be aired on 173 countries around the world. It's second only to the Tour de France in attendance and in attention that it gains.

"The amount of sheer collateral exposure for Estes Park, the Estes Valley, and the stores and businesses in the entire town is almost un-measurable. That's probably the biggest benefit -- that type of exposure."

Lancaster admits some businesses may be temporarily hurt by the race. "Some businesses won't be happy with it," he says. "Some businesses probably aren't happy when we do the rodeo parade or the Scots Fest parade either, anytime you disrupt the normal flow of things. This is the first time we've done it and we're going to wait and see what happens. We'll see what happens to our sales tax receipts."

OUARZAZATE, Morocco (AP) — The people are restive, the priesthood is scheming and a fanatic band of insurgents known as the zealots are plotting assassinations — and now to make matters worse, the body of a condemned cult-leader known as Jesus has disappeared from the tomb, apparently following some ancient prophecy. Full Story